What’s all this then, fraud in Apple’s app store? Well apparently so as Apple has warned app developers not to use promotional services that offer to increase visibility of their apps via automating sales to inflate an apps popularity or posting fake reviews and if the developer does so Apple will give them the order of the book and kick them out.

That’s according to the guys over at Apple Insider reporting that Apple has posted a message to the Apple Developer site called “Adhering to Guidelines on Third-Party Marketing Services.”

Apparently Apple’s treat is in response to a forum posting on Touch Arcade, on which a developer who is identified by the moniker “walterkaman” said he discovered an ad network that basically guarantees to get apps into the App Store’s top 25 at a cost of $5000.

Walterkaman claims that this service claims to promote eight of the top twenty-five free iPhone apps to their position via hiring someone “to build him a bot farm and automatically download his clients apps to drive up rankings.”

The iOS apps indicated in the post are Tiny Pets – number 4, Social Girl – 5, Fluff Friends – 6, Pet Town — 10, Crime City — 12, VIP Poker — 13, Sweet Shop — 16 and Top Girl at number 19, and dispite Apple’s warning these iOS apps still remain top ranking free applications on the App Store.

Apparently though Apple is aware of the problem and has taken action to ban developer Dream Cortex for “botting.”

So there you go, fraud in the App Store, would you consider handing over 5000-bucks to have your iOS app promoted into the top 25 apps?

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